thyroid questions

[adrianahill]

I have been on thyroid medications for about 19 years.  I was on .50  of levothyroxine for about seventeen years and was moved to 0.88 a couple years ago.  Lately, I have been exhausted and had a multitude of symptoms.  My TSH came back at 12.9 while on medication.  She also tested me for thyroglobulin (1320) and peroxidase (563) and both were extremely high.  Is this indicative of cancer?  I keep seeing thyrogobulin as a cancer marker.  Sonogram showed inflammation of the thyroid and that I have one .5 mm hypoechoic nodule that does not have calcification or blood flow to it.   She mentioned possibly  hashimotos  I don't understand if I can have that if I have already been hypothyroid for a long time.  My medication was increased to .125  levothyroxine.  I was referred to a doctor which can't see me for about a month.  I hope to feel better soon.  My memory and exhaustion are terrible.  I am very confused and terrified  Also, I had a hysterectomy in 21/14.  Could that have triggered the downward spiral.

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[goolarra]

You've had this for years most likely.  Nothing has changed except that you now know the cause of your hypothyroidism.  Antibodies can take years, or even decades, to destroy the thyroid, and they don't do it on a nice, smooth slope.  It happens in fits and starts, sometimes progressing much faster than others.  It's possible that's why you've needed the increases recently.  I'm sure your energy and memory will improve once you're on a proper dose.  

I was diagnosed the same way you were.  My PCP diagnosed hypo but never ran antibody tests.  It wasn't until some years later that I started seeing an endo, and he tested antibodies, confirming I have Hashi's.  Hashi's is the most prevalent cause of hypo in the developed world.  It's so prevalent that some doctors don't test antibodies, they just assume hypo patients have Hashi's.  

Your nodule is small.  Anything under 10 mm is usually only watched for changes.  Nodules also come and go.

I do have some advice...just my opinion, of course.  Forget about the antibodies!   There's little to nothing available that's proven to accomplish a lot in reducing them, much less eliminating them.  You've most likely had them for years.  There are some protocols that claim to address the "root cause" (the antibodies) of Hashi's, but I've found them to be seriously lacking in science to back them up.  When I found out my antibodies were positive, I kind of said, "Oh well, they were there yesterday, and I guess they'll be there tomorrow, too.  I didn't know I had them yesterday.  The only difference is I do today."  People tend to envision them as a swarm of killer bees.  

[adrianahill]

I answered these questions in another post instead of repyling on accident.  Ugh.  You can read it below.  

Thanks so much for responding.  I am trying not to painc.  My thryoid is a little sore and every time I feel it I freak out.

I have ordered a couple books on Hoshimotos.  Do you have any advice?  


Again, thanks so much, you have made me feel less terrified.      

[adrianahill]

Before my other doctor retired, they took blood each year and that was it.   He He would check my neck.  He said I had a goiter but it was nothing to worry about unless it started to grow. I never even thought about it much.   I am used to being tired, but I started feeling exhausted and feel like I have Alzheimers or something.  It has been awful.   I don't really know the other tests that they did.  I was referred to an endocrinologist that I see in a couple weeks.  All this was told to me over the phone by the nurse. The nodule was 5 mm she said.        

[goolarra]

I should also have asked if they tested anything besides TSH...FT3 or FT4?

[goolarra]

I believe if you check your lab report, it was thyroglobulin ANTIBODIES (TGab) that were 1320 and thyroid peroxidase ANTIBODIES (TPOab) that was 563.  TGab, which is different from thyroglobulin, and TPOab are the two markers for Hashi's.  So, it looks like that's what you have.  Don't be freaked out by the high numbers.  It's not unusual at all for us to have antibody counts in the high hundreds or thousands.

Nodules are extremely common if you have Hashi's.  Was that an 0.5 mm nodule of 0.5 cm nodule?  It's good that it doesn't have calcification or blood flow.

Have antibodies ever been tested before?  It's quite possible you've always had Hashi's.